African cities to host major meetings

African cities will host lucrative athletics meetings on a par with the European Golden League next year, the president of the African Athletics Confederation (AAC) said.

Cameroon's Kalkaba Malboum told a news conference that the meetings would take place in Dakar, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Abuja and Rabat.

"The AAC Permit Meeting in Nairobi on May 7 is the first step to staging a big meeting here in Kenya," Malboum said.

"From next year, it will be upgraded to the level of the European Golden League meetings."

He gave no dates of the other meetings which he said would help stem the flow of Africa's top athletes overseas.

"Africa has the best athletes and it makes little sense that they don't run in the continent," he said.

"This is why we have organised five major meetings to attract Olympic and world champions."

Malboum said top African athletes have been forced to compete abroad because they are not rewarded financially at home.

"If an athlete wins an Olympic gold, it is not just enough to feel proud of him or her. Governments should go a step further and reward them materially to make them feel appreciated and loved," he said.

Kenya has suffered more than most from defections, with Athens Olympics 1,500m silver medallist Bernard Lagat the latest to go. He became a US citizen this month.

Up to 10 former Kenyans represented different nations at the 2003 World Championships where Seif Saaeed Shaheen won the steeplechase gold as a Qatari to stop Kenya's 12-year reign over the distance.